Flood Modelling and Preparedness

The ADMP is working in collaboration with the Queensland Government and other researchers to study the data collected during the Queensland Floods. The outcome of this collaboration is better inform flood models available within the ADMP platform.

Volunteer Information

The ADMP is undertaking research into the communication of risk and threat: how are warnings and information best communicated and how can Geographically Volunteered Information (VGI) collected from first responders and can inform our understanding and contribute to better models.

Bushfire Modelling

Professor Abbas Rajabifard has met with Kevin Tolhurst to the Phoenix RapidFire model this is a bushfire simulator and risk assessment decision support tool developed with support from the Bushfire CRC. The model works by integrating complex interactions between fires and houses and other assets in turn providing a basis for evaluating plans and developments.

History: 1957 Blue Mountains Disaster

Natural disasters are sudden events that cause widespread destruction, unfortunately many events are repeated. One of the important functions of the ADMP is to provide the ability to reenact disasters and to learn from the profound effects so that we can minimise the impact in the future.

The Australia Disaster Management Platform (ADMP)

The University of Melbourne and IBM are collaborating on developing completely new IT technologies that represents a step change in the world’s ability to manage disasters, save lives and protect communities. This innovative, integrated, open standards based whole-systems disaster-management platform is a major undertaking which partners will design and implement in stages over the next few years. The platform will enable all those involved in the planning for, responses to and the recovery from multi-hazard disasters including communities to make swift, effective decisions, based on comprehensive, accurate, real-time information.

The concept of the platform is central to the ADMP as it will draw on vast amounts of geo-spatial and infrastructure information from multiple data sets (including many sets already in existence), bring these together, facilitate discovery and then integrate and analyse the data to create real-time, practical information streams on disaster events and to develop simulation and optimisation models. This practical information will then be communicated at appropriate levels of detail, to the wide spectrum of people involved making emergency decisions – from the central coordinating agencies who are charged with directing activities, to on-ground emergency services personnel, through to the local community members trying to decide whether to evacuate and if so how.

The ADMP is also a collaboration platform. It will leverage the significant related expertise in the University of Melbourne and IBM – Research Australia. There are many other groups around Australia and the globe also researching and designing disaster-management IT tools, often in isolation so the ADMP will become a platform that enables quality, disaster-management innovators to plug in and be part of an open standards based’system of systems’, not unlike the way in which an iPad enables a myriad of Apps to connect and interact.

In the initial stages, the researchers will undertake a pilot that utilises the buildings and related information of selected urban Melbourne areas. The researchers will develop compelling proofs of concept by studying how to provide decision-support that facilitates speedy and efficient evacuation during emergency situations.

The ADMP, a multi-hazard platform to support preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation to assist people in making decisions related to disaster management.

Capability & Delivery Layers to be Developed in the Australian Disaster Management Platform

3D Visualisation and Interaction

Provides unprecedented situational awareness to decision makers, responders and the public about the evolution of a disaster, the response and the decision processes.

Optimisation and Decision Support

Enhances the cognitive abilities of decision makers and responders by taking a holistic view of disasters that integrates strategic, tactical, and operational response, as well as recovery (ultimate objective).

Simulation and Forecasting

Behavioural Modelling

Builds understanding of how communities, responders and decison-makers react in emergencies to inform the optimisation algorithms.

Data Acquisition and Fusion

Handles data management, including the aggregation and fusion of information coming from multiple, heterogeneous sources.

Sensing and Monitoring

Collects information and monitors situations in the field.

Infrastructure & Geospatial Modelling

Brings together data on Australia’s infrastructures including electrical and transportation networks, land (forests /rivers), and cities (including buildings and occupancies) in an integrated set of maps.

The University of Melbourne and IBM are collaborating on developing completely new IT technologies that represents a step change in the world’s ability to manage disasters, save lives and protect communities.